Global UAV Market Report

North America Accounted for About 70% of the Total UAV Sector Globally

The UAV market has traditionally been narrowly focused but it is rapidly diversifying, expanding to environmental management, crisis management, agriculture, policing and crowd monitoring, civil engineering, pollution monitoring, fisheries protection, disaster management, telecommunications maintenance, oil and gas exploration, mineral exploration, mine safety, geophysical surveys and mapping applications.

'Global UAV Market Report' is a detailed 56-page report on the global UAV market, including a sector overview, discussion on market size, discussion of the leading companies' market shares, an overview of the regulatory environment in the biggest UAV markets, discussion of major market trends, market forecasts, and equities information of the world's leading publicly listed and private UAV companies.

Key Findings of this Report:

- Military applications still dominate the global UAV market, but the achievements of UAVs in military operations have boosted demand for drones in North America, Middle East and the Asia-Pacific in the last couple of years.
- The UAV market has traditionally been narrowly focused but it is rapidly diversifying, expanding to environmental management, crisis management, agriculture, policing and crowd monitoring, civil engineering, pollution monitoring, fisheries protection, disaster management, telecommunications maintenance, oil and gas exploration, mineral exploration, mine safety, geophysical surveys and mapping applications.
- In 2014, North America accounted for about 70% of the total UAV sector globally, followed by the Asia-Pacific, with China, India, Australia, and South Korea. The UK, Russia, Germany, and France are expected to be the next big markets for the European region.
- The world UAV sector is highly concentrated with a small number of companies holding most of the market share compared to other industries. Our estimates show there are more than 500 companies globally, with more than 200 commercial UAV companies, while the other 300 develop UAV for the military industry.
- AeroVironment, BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Finmeccanica, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Navmar Applied Sciences, Northrop Grumman, Safran, Textron, Thales, Boeing, Tital Aerospace, TAI, AIA and Aviation Industry Corporation of China are among the biggest players in the UAV market.
- A number of start-ups have made their mark on the market in recent years, however, and are challenging the dominance of the incumbent players. High-profile UAS start-ups like California-based3D Robotics and San-Francisco-based drone maker, Skycatch have already raised US$50 million and US$13.2 million each in funding, while large well-funded corporations like General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) are investing to help fund the take-off of commercial UAVs.
- As a result of a sales boom, UAVs are clogging the airspace, snarling air traffic and raising concerns among aerospace regulatory authorities in the process. In the US, new Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regulations governing UAV use allow the Transportation Department to wave requirements for FAA approval for drone flights that are operated outside of restricted airspace and below 200 feet.
- America’s comparative advantage in UAVs, however, is being battered as technological know-how disseminates throughout the international system. While existing technology has started to lag, global competitors are playing catch up in research and development (R&D) for drone technology.
- Other start-ups like PrecisionHawk, DroneDeploy, Skydio and Vires Aeronautics, AAI, Insitu, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and AeroVironment have also catapulted from small to mid-tier suppliers to prime providers capable of designing and integrating complete ubiquitous UAV systems.
- No country has ramped up its UAV research in recent years faster than China, where every major company for the Chinese military has a R&D center and funding allocations dedicated to drones. In recent years, the country has pumped considerable amounts of funds and engineering brainpower into the technology - a field previously dominated by the US and Israel.
- India has revealed its intention to develop drones that will fire missiles and fly at 30,000 feet, followed by Russia, which has revealed models of UAVs with weapons (although there is little evidence that they are currently operational). And in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron revealed in July 2015 that he wanted spending on military drones to increase.